The Internet has become an indispensable tool in a short time. A person may, with the click of a mouse, peruse a catalogue, input a VISA number or review a stock quote. Recent technology has enabled developers to create web pages that are dynamic and interactive. For example, screen elements may now be made to rotate; accept input; or scroll headlines. A technology often used to create dynamic web pages is so called “applet technology” that allows for the creation of so called “applets”.
An applet is a program that is written in the Java™ programming language and that can be included in a web page, much in the same way an image or other object is included. When a user uses a Java technology-enabled browser to view a page that contains an applet, the applet's code is transferred to the user's system from a server and executed by the browser's Java Virtual Machine (JVM).
Java applets are used in different ways to deliver a dynamic web experience. For example, an applet may display an image that rotates around another image. In another example, an applet might display a form for inputting a VISA card number to complete the purchase of an item. In general, a developer will write an applet to create dynamic and interactive web pages because the language commonly used to create web pages, HTML, lacks the necessary power and capability to provide such functionality.
An applet may also provide for a real time screen update of a screen element. A screen element capable of a real time screen update will change automatically without refreshing by the user and without the client computer system polling the server computer system. This is done with a point-to-point connection from the client applet back to a program that runs on the server. Real time screen updates are attractive to users that need current and reliable information on a moments notice. For example, a stockbroker involved in heavy trading would appreciate a NYSE stock quote that updates without requiring manual refreshing of the screen.
An applet is typically downloaded from a server computer system to a client computer system. This download may be problematic and time consuming when an excessively large applet or an excessively large number of applets are associated with a web page. Such web pages may require extended periods of time to download because of bandwidth limitations on the link between the server and the client. Frustrated users often give up waiting and go to another web site.